Agricultural jobs for youth in Africa in the spotlight at High-Level Continental Conference

The Youth Employment in Agriculture Conference will bring together more than 500 delegates, mostly young people, from across Africa to discuss ways to boost employment opportunities in agriculture on the continent through use of information and communication technologies (ICT) as well as entrepreneurship.

Over 60 percent of Africa's estimated 1.2 billion people are under the age of 25. Yet with little job creation currently in the rural areas where the majority of the population resides, there is a growing uncertainty over the continent's preparedness to tap this resource.

The agenda will focus on sustainable solutions for decent youth employment in agriculture in Africa such as minimizing drudgery while harnessing opportunities in agribusiness entrepreneurships and innovations to enhance productivity and competitiveness.

During the conference, FAO will introduce four digital applications aimed to help farmers improve their household nutrition, food production, income and livelihoods.